Can't Lose You
by Yian-San
Summary: Enzan Ijuuin had always been a person of few words. But when he meets a girl who probably has fewer words than himself, not to mention an extraordinary talent, he can't help but be intrigued. [UNDERGOING REWRITE]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi everyone! This is my very first fanfic, so I'd appreciate if you read this and leave some comments and criticisms so that I can improve with my writing. I'm sorry if there are many other fanfics that are like this, but I tried to make mine a bit original. My own character, Akari, may be a bit based off of Kira from MARS a little bit, if anyone knows what that is. The characters may be a little OOC. Also, Enzan is older now (being fifteen), and the rest of the Rockman characters are either fourteen, or in their late fourteen's, meaning they are going to turn fifteen soon. Please proceed, if you please, but I must warn that there may be cheesiness! (XD) Thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rockman.EXE and/or Megaman. They are owned by CAPCOM. I do not own MARS either. Both belong to their respective owners. I only own Akari and Multi.EXE, along with any future OCs, along with this fanfic.

* * *

**Can't Lose You**

By: Yian-San

Enzan ran his hand through his white-and-black hair. I know what you're thinking - _what a weird color of hair for a kid!_ Yeah, I know. It's his natural color, believe it or not. Besides, he is fifteen, and does _not_ act like a "kid" anymore. Heck, he is probably the most serious and determined teen in the world. Well, what would you expect from the vice president of a huge, multi-billion dollar company? Heh, bet you didn't see that coming.

Yes, Enzan Ijuuin is the Vice President of IPC Corporations. His father being the CEO, of course. Now, you're probably wondering why the heck Enzan, a fifteen-year-old boy, would be vice president of such a huge company. Well, what you didn't know is that he is brilliant; he has quite an impressive record. He created and programmed his very own net-navi (**N**et **N**avigator), Blues, which is said to be the most powerful navi in the world; he is nicknamed the "Prodigy Netbattler," which, of course, refers to his amazing record of at least five hundred undefeated netbattles; he is an official netbattler, and a qualified member of the NetPolice, so he is a Net-Savior. There, you convinced yet? I thought so.

Well, back to reality. Enzan ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. He stared at his computer screen blankly. He had worked for pretty much the entire day. He sighed.There was so much work piled up on him, such as the programs for new PETs, hundreds of contracts to sign, thousands of orders for customized PETs, advanced calculations for new technology that _he_ had to do _himself_, and on top of everything, he had a brand new mission from the NetPolice.

Enzan slumped into his leather armchair. He brought up his hand and rubbed his eyes wearily. His navi peered out at him from within a digital device, the PET, that was situated on the teen's desk.

"Enzan-sama... are you all right? Shall I send for some water?" Blues asked, in his usual flat tone.

"No, I'm all right, Blues. I'm just... rather stressed out. IPC has never had so much work before. Why don't we just call it a day... and head home?" Enzan replied, reaching up to save his work and log off the computer. He took his PET from its charger and walked up to his door, locking it with a small, elegant key as he walked out. Just before he reached the large, glass exit doors he turned to the right and walked into the secretaries' office.

There, he talked to the main secretary and told her that he was taking off. At first, the secretary looked at him like he was crazy, since it was only 5:30, and he had a tendency to work late into the night the past few weeks. But then, she saw a glaze of fatigue cross his eyes. She immediately alerted his father, then stood up and bowed, telling him to have a good night. The other secretaries instantly followed suit and stood up as well, bowing.

Enzan sighed, and then left the large office. He finally walked out of the huge corporation and, strangely enough, headed toward the park.

"...Enzan-sama, are you not supposed to go home?" Blues asked. Blues knew not to inquire the teen prodigy too often. The teen got annoyed rather easily.

"Yeah, I know... but I thought some fresh air in the park would do me some good." Enzan said. Blues became quiet again. He did not want to disrupt his Operator's peace of mind. Enzan walked through the tree-lined avenues, breathing in the rich aromas of the new blossoms sprouting on the cherry trees. He stopped and watched some little kids playing around on a playground. After a while, Enzan continued walking, noting the nice weather as he went. He smiled slightly. It was as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Off in the corner, he suddenly spotted a girl hunched over something. Enzan narrowed his eyes, which Blues noticed.

"...What's wrong, Enzan-sama?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing really. I'm just wondering what that girl is up to..." Enzan answered.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm…"

Enzan walked over to the girl. She didn't seem to notice him. She looked as if she was very busy doing whatever it was. Enzan was still about a yard away, but he could see what she was doing, and frankly, he was rather amazed at what he saw.

She had been drawing the little children that were playing. Using a small stick of charcoal, she had sketched out the children's bodies and was carefully shading in details. He was amazed by how realistic it was, since she seemed only about his age.

"That drawing is... really good…" Enzan said quietly, before he could stop himself. The girl immediately looked up, apparently very surprised. When she saw him, she hurriedly began to put her things back into her bag.

Enzan's eyebrows came together in confusion. "Hey, wait…" he tried, but she had already pushed her way past him. In her haste to get away, her PET had slid across the bench and fell next to it quite heavily. As a result, the screen cracked. When Enzan heard a small cry emit from the PET, he picked up the PET and looked into the screen. The navi inside looked hurt. He turned around and ran after the girl.

"Hey-- miss, please wait!" he shouted after her. The girl was far ahead. "Blues, I want you to check over the navi... scan over the entire body, and repair anything that you can." Enzan said urgently.

"I'm on it." came the short reply.

Enzan was getting closer to the girl. Finally, he managed to grab the girl's arm. "Please miss, your PET..." he said breathlessly. She looked at the PET, and immediately grabbed it out of his hand.

"Multi...! Multi, are you okay? What's wrong?" the girl asked, her voice trembling slightly. She looked up at Enzan hesitantly and asked in a quiet voice, "What's... what's happening? W-why is there another navi there...?"

"Don't worry, that navi is mine. His name is Blues, and I sent him into your PET to check over your navi. Blues will transport your navi to IPC headquarters, and I'll look over it further there." Enzan said. The girl's eyes dropped down to her PET to see that Blues and Multi were gone.

"Well, we should get to IPC. Blues is waiting for me." Enzan said. The girl stayed quiet. She followed him to IPC without saying anything else.

* * *

"Well, your navi seems okay. I checked it over and nothing too serious happened. I just had to repair a little bit of its data." Enzan said, scanning his computer screen. "Right now, it's just in sleep mode." The girl looked down at her hands and shifted uncomfortably. Enzan looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I... didn't introduce myself. My name is Enzan Ijuuin. Who might you be?" he asked.

"… Akari. Akari Chang." the girl said quietly.

"Akari Chang? That's an interesting name. It's different from other Japanese names I've heard."

"That's... that's because it's not entirely Japanese. My parents and relatives come from Taiwan, so my last name is Chinese..." Akari trailed off.

"Hmm… that's interesting." Enzan said. "Well, I'm not sure if you know me or not, but you've probably heard of IPC."

"...No, I've heard of you. You are one of the Official Netbattlers... aren't you...?" Akari looked up. She had heard a small sound come from Enzan's monitor. Enzan noticed as well.

"Hey, your navi is awake. I'll download it to your PET now." Akari took out her PET. Inside was her navi, Multi.

"Oh... thank goodness you're okay. I was so worried about you," Akari stated, looking into the PET with a relieved expression. "...I'm so sorry, Multi. I shouldn't have been so careless. I'm so sorry…" she whispered. She started to cry softly. A tear fell on the PET.

"Akari, please... please don't cry. I'm fine, really! Oh... don't cry... it doesn't fit you." Multi said gently. Akari smiled and hugged the PET to her chest. "Thank you Multi. I don't know what I'd do without you…"

Enzan looked at the both of them. They seemed to have a really strong bond. He turned towards his own PET.

"Good work, Blues. It's a good thing you were able to transport her navi so quickly." he said.

"Of course, Enzan-sama. Thank you, sir." Blues replied.

Akari had stood up, inserting her PET into a compartment on her bag. She extended her hand towards Enzan shyly, looking down. "Th-thank you so much, sir. I... don't know what I would have done... had you not been there. Multi... Multi would probably still be at the park bench," she said, a slight smile on her face.

Enzan took her hand. "You're welcome, but really, it was my navi that did mostly everything. Also, you don't need to call me 'sir'. I get 'sir' too much at work already anyways." he added.

Akari nodded her head a bit. "W-well, thank you both very much..." she said, heading towards the door. Enzan stood up and walked towards her.

"Wait, before you go... I'd like you to answer something."

She turned around and looked at him. "Y-yes...?"

Enzan asked, "Well, first of all, that drawing of the children was really impressive. Where did you learn how to draw so well?"

Akari looked aside in embarrassment. "...Thank you, but... I think I still have much more to learn. I... really didn't take lessons or anything. I sort of just learned with other people. A-and... um..." she started, but then cut herself off. She shook her head slightly. "...N-never mind..."

"Hn... well, you're doing a very nice job. I'd like to see your work sometime." he said. She smiled timidly, nodding, her gaze still fixed on the ground. A moment of awkward silence passed, and she slowly started backing out again.

"Be... careful going back home," he added, seeing that she was near the door. She nodded her head, and turned the knob, exiting quietly. Enzan stood there for a while, pondering all the events that had happened that afternoon.

"Well, this was quite an afternoon... Wasn't it, Blues?" he asked.

"Yes, sir... more than we bargained for." Blues replied in his usual tone. "Enzan-sama, I... have to say something." Blues said suddenly.

"What is it, Blues?"

"Well, when I was scanning her navi, Multi, I discovered something quite unusual. The navi had a great amount of power stored inside of her. The data was different from normal navis somehow. It was more like… there were multiple beings in her, in some way. Also, when I tried to restore some things that had been damaged, all of a sudden it was healed." Blues said.

"...That is really different…" Enzan said, brows coming together as he thought. "I don't think I've ever heard of a navi like that... much less one that acts like that…"

* * *

Akari walked down the large hallways of the IPC building. She had her PET in front of her. Inside it, Multi was talking with Akari quietly. "…And then when I figured I was hurt pretty badly, I immediately used Heal on myself."

"But... wasn't a lot of your data damaged? I don't think you could've restored that much on your own, regardless of how strong you might be..." Akari stated.

"You're right. I couldn't restore that much, although I managed to restore a lot of it. That's when the navi, Blues, started to scan me. He went through my data, restoring a little of it that he could, but not much since I got to it faster than he did." Multi grinned. "That's why I was so exhausted afterwards. I was trying to restore my data as fast as I could, and I got so tired that I automatically slipped into sleep mode."

"Well... I'm proud of you. I'm sure that you will be stronger now, so that we'll be ready for anything." Akari said, smiling a bit. Her voice dropped. "I'm glad that you're safe and okay now. I promise you that I'll never let anything happen to you again..." she said softly.

Multi smiled. It was just like her operator to care so much. That was one of Akari's many good points. "And I promise that I won't ever let anything happen to you either, Akari. If anyone is going to get you, they have to go through me first!" Multi said energetically, pumping a fist into the air for emphasis. Akari smiled back.

"Thank you so much Multi. You're... such a great navi…"

They exited the corporation, a feeling of warmth and compassion flowing through them.

* * *

_End chapter...

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_**A/N: **Um, well, sorry for the weird chapter. I know it was a little choppy, and not very smooth flowing, and I apologize. I'm also sorry for the lack of action, but I'm sure there will be more action in later chapters. And like I said before, I think Enzan was a little different from his usual personality, but you'll find out why later (sort of). I've already typed up the next couple chapters, but I'd like to know what you all think of this before I post them. If you guys have any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them too, although I might not use them. So please review, and tell me what you think, along with any criticisms/comments. Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks to all that have reviewed. It means a lot to me. Anyway, here's the second chapter, though there's not much action in this either… sorry. -.-;; I tend to go into overdrive with details…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rockman.exe/Megaman: NT Warrior, or anything else related to them. CAPCOM owns them.

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**Chapter 2 **

Enzan continued typing on his keyboard. It had been a week after he had met Akari. He had been working quite hard the entire week, but his thoughts occasionally drifted off to her and her navi.

"Enzan-sama, are you still thinking about… that… day?" Blues asked slowly. Enzan shifted his gaze to the red navi.

"I'm just curious about her navi. If what you said was true, then they might be a very powerful netbattling team. Commissioner Kifune might be interested in them, since the NetPolice can always use new recruits." he reasoned.

"Perhaps you could go check the park. That was where she was when you first met her."

"Good idea, Blues. We'll go this afternoon; maybe she'll be drawing again," he said. "It'd be interesting to see her work."

"Alright Enzan-sama."

* * *

Sure enough, Blues was right. Akari had gone to the park to draw some more. She took out her PET and laid it on the bench beside her, then extracted her drawing pad and pencil. She started sketching out the pond scenery in front of her. Multi looked up at her operator admiringly. Akari's natural talent impressed her, but she was even more impressed by her humbleness of the matter. Multi looked down at her own digital picture and laughed. She was bored, so she had decided to draw something herself. Her drawing, however, had not turned out the way she had wanted. It was still good, though. A couple pixels had been misplaced, but that was all.

Enzan approached Akari slowly, with his hands put casually into his pockets.

"Hello. Funny seeing you here again."

Akari looked up and was startled by his presence. However, she did not run away as before, but instead fumbled with her pencil nervously.

"Can... I sit here?" Enzan asked, while pointing to the space beside her. Akari took her PET and moved it to her other side. Then she moved over a bit. She nodded her head silently.

Enzan took the seat and looked over at Akari's half-completed sketch. He blinked. For some reason, the pond reminded him somewhat of a picture of his mother, who had sat by a pond with a bouquet of flowers, smiling gracefully. He smiled somewhat sadly, remembering her. Akari saw his sad smile and felt more uncomfortable.

"I-is... something wrong?" she asked slowly.

He looked over at her and hesitated before he said, "...No, it's just—your picture reminds me of… my mother…"

Akari looked back at her sketch and said, "...I'm afraid I don't really see how, but, can I—ask why...?"

Enzan sighed and thought awhile, then started his explanation. He had refrained from telling anyone, since he thought it would bring back some rather painful memories (he didn't even think that Netto knew). However, there was just... something about Akari that he thought would make it okay to tell her.

"My mother—died when I was very young; about two years old, to be exact. My father never really went into much detail about it. I sort of just stumbled on the fact. See... one day, when I was about five years old, I went into my father's bedroom just out of curiosity. I didn't even know it was his bedroom at the time. It was unlocked for some reason, and I just went in. Inside, I saw a—a picture, a picture of a woman. She held a bouquet of daisies and roses, and was sitting down next to a sparkling lake. Her smile—it was…beautiful." He gave a small smile himself. "I don't think I'll ever forget that smile..."

Akari looked at him with a pitiful expression. She felt guilty that she could have both of her parents alive and well, while he only had one.

"Then... I saw something else on the desk underneath the photo," he continued. "It was another photo, but this time it was of me when I was two years old. I was standing next to a tombstone marked with my mother's name. However, by that time when I was five, I had already forgotten that I went to my mother's funeral. But that photo reminded me. I quickly ran out of the bedroom after that because I heard footsteps. Ever since that event, I... haven't gone a day without thinking about it at least once. It haunts me everywhere I go…" Enzan trailed off.

"...I'm—so sorry…" Akari said sadly, trying to fight back tears. "Truly, I am. It would be horrible if anyone had to go through such a burden. It's amazing that you can cope with it so well…"

Enzan turned to face her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you must have done a lot of things. It must have been hard to achieve all that you've done with... _that_ hanging over your head all day. You know, no one to praise you or something. I know that I could never live day after day like that…"

Enzan went silent. Akari saw this and looked down, biting her lip.

"I-I'm... sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I must have made you feel worse. I'm really sorry..."

He shook his head. "It's all right. You were just speaking your thoughts." he said, looking down.

Akari paused, and looked down at her sketch. She awkwardly traced over some faint lines. She glanced over at Enzan and, sensing his gaze, quickly went back to her work.

"Well, um, I have a question." Enzan stated. "Do you remember last week, when Blues scanned your navi?"

"I do…"

"Uh, well, Blues was telling me that while he scanned your navi, he found something quite unusual. He told me that when he was trying to restore some data, all of a sudden it was restored. And then he was saying how there seemed to be 'multiple beings' in your navi. Do you think you can clarify some things?" Enzan asked.

Akari glanced to the side nervously. "Um… well, yes I can say something. My navi, Multi, is a... special navi. She can transform into different animal forms, because of the small amounts of different DNA infused in her. She can also heal herself, along with other navis. This is why she was restored so quickly. Multi told me she had used Heal," she finished timidly.

"You better believe I did!" Multi shouted from her PET for added emphasis. Both Enzan and Akari looked over at her. Akari almost forgot that she was there. "You... were listening the whole time, weren't you Multi?" she said with a slight smile.

"Yup!" Multi replied with a grin. "Oh, and Enzan, is it? I'm sorry for your loss; your mama sounds like a wonderful person. She sounds a bit like papa, doesn't she Akari?" Here, Akari nodded.

"She sounds... a lot like papa."

"Your father?"

"Yeah. My father helped me program Multi here. It was a team effort between us. I had the ideas for the navi's abilities and appearance, but my father did the actual programming, since I wasn't sure how to do it. I was only six, so it makes sense. My father isn't exactly a scientist, but he took computer programming in college and... has always had a talent for computers."

Enzan paused. "Your father must be a smart man. If he can program a navi as complex as yours... well, it's a wonder why he didn't become a scientist."

Akari nodded her head, keeping her gaze on the ground. "I'm sure... he'd be flattered to hear that. But I think I agree with you on that fact. I've asked him why he didn't become a scientist, but all he did was shrug and say that he didn't have to. He was happy just to be good with computers."

Enzan looked thoughtful. "He seems really modest..." Akari nodded again.

She continued on slowly. "He's a really cheerful kind of person. He's always smiling... and laughing at people's jokes… he also does everything very smoothly. Papa could make something hard look like it was really easy to do. I don't know, but I can't help but think your mother... must have been like that. What do you think, Multi?" She picked up the PET and looked into it.

"Couldn't have put it any better," replied the grinning navi.

"He sounds like a very good father." Enzan said. His face fell when thoughts of his own father came into his mind, but he quickly pushed them out.

"... Do you think it would be okay if you plugged your navi into the Net? Perhaps Blues and her could get to know each other better," he questioned.

Akari looked hesitant. "Um, what do you think Multi? I don't want to i-if you're not comfortable with it..." she asked.

"No, it's okay Akari. I don't mind."

"Okay... then. Are you sure?" She still looked a little hesitant.

"Yes, Akari. I think we both should get to meet new people." Multi replied.

Akari sighed. She turned to Enzan and said, "Well, Multi doesn't mind, so you can plug your navi in…"

"Blues is already plugged in."

"...O-oh..." She blushed. There was a plug-in terminal connected to a park computer nearby.

"You can plug her in there." Enzan said, pointing it out. The infrared beam struck the port.

* * *

In the Net, a stream of data materialized into Multi. Multi turned around and greeted Blues warmly.

"Hi! I'm Multi; it's a pleasure to meet you. I don't think we got to introduce ourselves very well the last time we met. And you are?" She extended her hand. Blues acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head.

"Blues." he said simply, seemingly ignoring her outstretched hand.

Multi hesitated, and then lowered her hand. She put both hands behind her back and said, "Well, thank you about that other day. I realized that I didn't exactly thank you properly. If it hadn't been for you, I... probably might not be here right now." She looked at Blues curiously, since he had his arms crossed and his back was facing her slightly.

"So, thank you again…"

"No problem; don't mention it. I really didn't do that much anyway." Blues said shortly. He turned and looked out of the screen. Multi followed his gaze.

Enzan and Akari seemed to be talking about something. As they looked at a sketchpad, there was a small, slightly embarrassed smile upon the girl's face.

"I must say, your Net-Op is quite talented. I've never seen Enzan-sama like this." Blues said quietly.

'_Or…he could be interested in something else…' _he thought to himself.

"Thank you! I'm sure Akari would be happy to hear that," Multi said cheerfully. She looked out of the screen again. "It's been awhile since Akari has met anyone new," she mused.

Blues shifted his gaze towards the female navi. "And... that is a good thing?" he asked slowly. Multi nodded.

"You see, Akari really is a wonderful person. I wouldn't ask for a more caring Net-Op. She would help anyone that needed it. The thing is, though... she is quite shy. Because of her being so shy, she isn't someone that would just go up to a random person and start talking. And people often tend to leave her alone, too. I think that's why she was a little intimidated by Enzan-san the other day," Multi murmured.

"Even now, I'm pretty sure that she's nervous inside. I should know, being her navi…" she added.

Blues had been observing her while she was talking. She was a light blue navi, with darker blue gloves and boots. Her boots ran high up on her legs, just below her knees, and they had a small lavender jewel on them, outlined in white. Her gloves went all the way to her elbow, and there were small pieces of armor covering each elbow. There was a thin white stripe running up her sides as well, and on her helmet, there were two raised areas that were bright yellow. Down the middle of the helmet was a bright green stripe. Locks of light brown hair fell around her face and curved behind her shoulders. She had bright, clear bluish-green eyes and a cheerful smile.

"... I'm sure that my Net-Op is sorry for causing all that trouble." Blues said.

Multi turned to look at him. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's okay," she said with a small grin. "Um... by the way, you did a great job in the N1 Grand Prix."

Blues was surprised that she knew, but his face showed no emotion. "Have you been in a tournament as well?" he asked bluntly.

"No, Akari and I don't really netbattle much. I think you can probably figure out why, looking at her. I can barely remember the last time we did, if at all. I sort of just watched the N1 during my free time." Multi said as she smiled broadly.

Blues thought for a while. Then, he said, "You seem to want to netbattle again... don't you?"

Multi shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't netbattled in so long… besides, I'm not sure if Akari would want to anyway. I don't even think she has any battlechips. I really don't need to though…"

"You know... I could probably netbattle you if you wanted. I'll just tell Enzan-sama or something." Blues said. One of his eyebrows went up behind his visor as he realized what he just did.

_'Did I just-- offer her a favor?'_ he thought as he sighed. _'Rockman must be getting to me…'_

Multi's eyes widened. "Oh no, I couldn't go up against you! I mean, you're like, world famous…! Like I said before, I doubt Akari has any battlechips at all." she said, waving her arms frantically in front of her.

Blues gave a hint of a smirk. "I'm sure... Enzan-sama can come up with something," he said, before his data dispersed back into the PET. Multi stood staring at the spot where Blues had just been. She blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened...

_

* * *

End chapter...

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_

**A/N: **Well, sorry if Blues seemed a little… stupid. I mean, you know, how he says, "Have you been in a tournament as well?" I would think Enzan and Blues would have searched the names of all the participants in any of the tournaments they've been in… And I think Enzan was rather cheesy… Well anyways, this chapter didn't have much of anything special, except that you see a little more about Akari and Multi's characters. I'd appreciate more reviews, so that I can still improve. Until then, see ya later!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello everybody! Wow, it's been so long since my last update... I'm really sorry for that. I had all this schoolwork and mid-terms that I had to take, and I just recently moved to a new house too, so that throws things off a bit. (I had a bit of trouble finding the wires that connected my computer... >.>;;) At least I got medium to high A's on all of my mid-terms! (It was my first time taking them...) I also had a bit of trouble with this chapter... but anyways, I finally finished it! This was my first battle sequence that I've ever written, so I'd like to know how I did.

Oh, and special thanks to **grandmaster p**, **FMA Chiberz Rocz**, and **RandomRathFan** for their help! It really means a lot to me!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to Rockman.exe or Megaman: NT Warrior. Rockman.exe is the property of CAPCOM.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Back in the real world, Blues called out from his PET. "Enzan-sama," he said, getting his operator's attention. Enzan looked back at the PET. "Oh, you're back," he said, picking up the PET for better viewing. "Is something wrong?"

Blues shook his head. After a moment of hesitation, he proceeded. "Chang-san's navi has agreed to a netbattle. However, Chang-san's navi doubts that her Net-Op has any battlechips. Perhaps you could be of assistance somehow?" he asked.

"Blues, we need approval from her first to see if she wants to netbattle."

"Of course, Enzan-sama."

Enzan turned to Akari. "What do you think? Do you want to netbattle?" Akari winced slightly.

"I don't know… I haven't netbattled in... a long time. I can't even remember if I've ever netbattled at all…" she answered in her hushed voice. Multi had come back into her PET as well.

"Come on, Akari. I guess I'll netbattle Blues. Besides," Multi lowered her voice. "I want to see if my abilities make me any good at netbattling." she said, flashing a grin.

"Are you sure?" Akari asked uncertainly. Multi nodded. Akari had a dubious expression cross her face as she said, "Well, okay…" Akari lowered her voice. "...I guess I'm a little curious as well," she whispered, suppressing a small smile. Multi laughed out loud.

"So, do you agree?" Enzan asked. Hesitating for a while, she finally nodded her head.

"Yeah. I think it'll be a good experience for Multi..."

"Okay, then. Do you have any battlechips with you?" he questioned.

"Um, I-I don't think so…" she answered.

"That's fine." Enzan said. He was about to lend her some of his own battlechips when an idea hit him.

"How about—we don't use battlechips? The navis will have to rely only on their own instincts and default weapons. This way, they can test their own hand-to-hand combat as well," he said. "What do you think, Blues? You can handle it, right?"

"Yes, Enzan-sama."

"How about you, Akari?" Multi asked. Akari seemed rather undecided.

"I really don't know. It might be hard for you…"

Multi let out a long sigh. "Come _on_ Akari." she stressed. Her voice softened. "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry…" After a moment, Akari replied. "Okay... But if you get hurt, promise you'll log out immediately."

Multi grinned widely. "Great! I will Akari," she promised. Akari smiled gently.

"You can jack her in now." Enzan spoke up. Akari jacked her in, the infrared beam striking the port again.

* * *

In the Net, Multi met Blues once more. Multi frowned at the fact that Blues still had his arms crossed.

"You know, you should try loosening up sometime," she said to him.

Blues merely shrugged.

"Also, I heard you calling me, 'Chang-san's navi'," she said. A small smile graced her lips. "You do know you can call me 'Multi'."

Blues was about to explain that he called her that because it was polite, and that they barely knew each other, but all that came out was, "Fine then… whatever..." His eyes widened behind his visor.

'_Why... did I just do that...?' _he wondered mentally.

Multi smiled. "Thanks," she said simply. "You can call my Net-Op 'Akari', too. 'Chang-san' just… sounds weird." she said, shuddering.

Blues had to bite back a small chuckle and keep his deadpan expression.

"Hn... I'll… do that."

Multi smiled again. "See? There you go. You're loosening up already!" she said cheerfully. Blues, for the first time since he could remember, could not come up with anything to say to that. Instead, he just seemingly stared intently at the ground. Only when Enzan's voice spoke up did he snap out of his gaze.

"Blues, you ready to start?" came the slightly amused voice.

Blues coughed once, then stood up straight, his arms at his sides.

"Yes, Enzan-sama. Sorry…" he mumbled. Enzan raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to snicker at his navi. "It's fine, Blues. Tell Multi to get ready…" and with that, Enzan closed the link. Blues turned to Multi. Just as he was about to speak, she interrupted.

"It's fine; I heard him." Multi said, grinning. He nodded.

The both of them immediately got into fighting stances. Blues was still vaguely wondering why he was doing this in the first place. Multi, who had a blank look on her face, again interrupted his thoughts.

"Um, when do we start?" she asked skeptically, with that same blank look still on her face.

Blues nearly let a smirk form on his lips, but instead spoke with a cool voice, "Enzan-sama will count us off."

Multi flashed her cheerful grin. "All right, then…" she said.

* * *

In the real world, Enzan held his PET out in front of him while Akari did the same.

"All right, are both of you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sure, I guess…"

Akari became worried by that tone of voice, but Multi turned her head and flashed a thumbs-up sign at her Net-Op. Akari smiled and said in a low voice, "_Good luck, Multi_." Multi returned the smile and turned back to find Blues with his eyes set firmly on her. She swallowed nervously.

"Okay then," Enzan replied. "Three… two… one… start!"

Almost instantly, Blues loaded his default sword onto his right arm and began charging towards her. After a moment of hesitation, Multi brought a hand up and touched the side of her helmet. A clear blue visor came down over her eyes.

Right as Blues started to bring his sword down, something came up and blocked him. He blinked, somewhat startled. It turned out that Multi had come up with a sword of her own, and had cleanly come up to block her from his attack. Blues jumped back and started coming in from a different angle, but Multi was ready. A bunch of statistics came up on her visor as she started scanning the situation.

"Attack coming forty-five degrees to the left; possible attack power, 80 percent; maximum chance of dodging, 10 percent… huh… looks like I'll have to attack head on," Multi said as she grinned slightly. "After all, a good offense is just as good as a good defense from what I've heard."

Blues blinked as he started to run once more. _"...Hn... why do I feel... as if I'm going up against... myself...?" _he wondered vaguely. He brushed the thought aside. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things.

Multi ran and brought her sword up just as Blues was bringing his sword down again. They held their swords together in that position for a while, each putting as much force as possible on their sword. They broke off at the same time, and sparred each other again. It continued, with Blues striking in different directions, but Multi being there to counter it. Blues had managed to hit her a couple times, but she recovered somewhat after each hit taken. Finally, they both jumped back, panting slightly. Blues was the first to speak.

"You're not bad for not battling in a while…" he growled. Multi grinned.

"Well, I have to practice sometimes. After all, who else is going to do the virus-busting around the house?" she said as she laughed lightly. His eyes widened slightly due to her easy-going manner even during a battle, but he quickly brushed it off.

"Time to finish this…" he muttered. A competitive look crossed Multi's face. Her eyes narrowed as she started scanning again. Blues jumped from place to place so fast that it seemed as if he teleported himself the entire time. The target on Multi's visor gradually shifted around so that it continually moved left.

'_Wow, he's so fast…' _Multi thought in frustration. Blues finally ended up right behind her and slashed his sword down. Multi sensed his presence and whirled around at the last moment, but she wasn't fast enough to block. She flew back, hitting the ground hard. Akari gasped as she saw this happen.

"Multi! Are you okay?" Akari shouted.

Multi grimaced as she got back up. "I'm fine, Akari…" she said as she forced a smile. "Blues just caught me off-guard." This did nothing to calm Akari down.

'_Please be careful, Multi…' _she thought anxiously. Multi seemed to read her mind as she turned around and winked at Akari. Then she turned her head back and started to run towards Blues, as he began to run as well. Their swords clashed together one more time. Multi was running out of ideas as to what to do, since Blues was quickly overpowering her. Her eyes widened as an idea suddenly struck her mind. She ducked down abruptly, causing Blues to stumble, and kicked out her leg a bit clumsily, yet it managed to strike him from behind. He stumbled further, but managed to stay upright. He turned around sharply with a scowl, and was about to attack, when yet another voice stopped him.

"Hey, Blues!" came a cheery voice. Blues immediately looked over his shoulder to see whom the voice belonged to. Once he did, however, he let out a sigh and his sword disappeared to become replaced by the rest of his arm.

Rockman, Roll, and Glyde walked up to them. Rockman raised an eyebrow. "Blues," he said slowly. "What were you just doing?"

"And who's she?" Roll chimed in. Multi laughed in embarrassment as she picked herself up off the ground, rubbing the arm which she had fallen on.

Blues crossed his arms again and walked over to the side. He leaned on a cyber-wall. "We had a netbattle," he said shortly. Rockman snickered as he nudged him in the ribs. "So what happened? I thought you didn't do favors for anyone. She didn't beat you did she?" he teased.

Blues ignored him. "No." was all that he said. Multi giggled. "No, I didn't beat him, but he didn't exactly beat me either. When you guys came, we stopped." she said cheerily.

Everyone turned to her. Multi blinked from the sudden attention, but quickly shook herself out of her reverie. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't introduce myself, did I? Hi, I'm Multi; it's a pleasure to meet all of you. Are you all of Blues' friends?" she asked.

Roll was the first to say anything back. "Hi, Multi! I'm Roll. The pleasure's all mine!" she replied, shaking Multi's hand. Rockman laughed. "Hey, my name's Rockman. And I'm pretty sure we can call ourselves 'Blues' friends'…" he said as he laughed again. Off to the side, Blues scoffed.

Multi smiled. "Nice to meet you, Rockman."

Glyde came up to her and shook her hand politely. "Hello, Multi. I'm Glyde, Miss Yaito's navi. It's a pleasure to meet you, too," he said. Multi simply grinned at him.

"Hey, Glyde." she said brightly.

Rockman cocked his head. "How did you guys meet in the first place?" he asked skeptically. "I don't exactly think Blues is someone that just goes around netbattling everyone that he sees."

Multi glanced at Blues. "Um, well… long story short, he saved me from... deletion one day..." she trailed off. Everyone stared at her.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Roll asked, her eyes wide. Multi laughed uneasily.

"Well, it really wasn't _that_ serious. My Net-Op accidentally dropped her PET, and the screen cracked. Since the PET was slightly broken, I lost some of my data too. Blues and his Net-Op helped us though, and Blues was netbattling me since I never really had before."

Rockman smirked. "Blues is such a nice guy, isn't he?" he teased. Multi laughed softly. Roll turned to her. "I'd be glad to netbattle you anytime if you want, since you've said you never had before." she said.

"Thank you, but you really don't need to. My Net-Op isn't much of a netbattling kind of person." Multi replied.

"Well, I'm always available if you ever feel like it."

"Thanks, Roll." she responded, smiling.

* * *

Netto, Meiru, and Yaito walked up to the two sitting on the bench. "Hey, Enzan!" Netto shouted.

Enzan looked up, but he soon regretted it. "What do you want now, Hikari?" he said rather irritably. Netto either didn't hear the irritation at all, or just chose to ignore it. Then, he finally realized that there was another person there.

"Hey… who's—," he started, until he saw a picture in the sketchbook. His eyes bugged out. "Oh my God, someone actually drew that! It's not just a photo!" he shouted loudly as he reached out his hand to touch the charcoal sketch, as if that alone could prove him right. Akari gasped in surprise. Meiru sighed exasperatedly as she yanked him back by the collar of his vest. She turned to Akari apologetically.

"I'm sorry about that," she said as she turned a withering look towards Netto. "That's just how he is, I guess." she added with a giggle. Akari smiled gently, looking down at her sketch to make sure nothing had happened to it.

"Netto, you can't do that to people. First off, it's rude, and second of all, you'll end up sending people to the hospital because of heart attacks." Enzan said, annoyed. Netto scowled as he tried to think up a retort. Eventually, he just gave up and plopped down on the soft grass, as everyone but Akari rolled their eyes. Meiru turned to Akari.

"Hi, I'm Meiru. What's your name?"

"Oh… I-I, uh…" she said, looking down, but she was cut short.

"Her name is... Akari Chang..." Enzan replied for her, obviously sensing that she was uncomfortable. She turned and looked at him questioningly, her eyes a mixture between curiosity and bewilderment. Meiru looked at him as well.

"Akari, huh?" Meiru asked, turning back to her. "It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile. Akari looked down shyly.

"You too…"

Meiru gestured to her right. "This here is my friend, Yaito, and him over there…" she pointed to a nearby tree where Netto was currently under. "That's Netto." Akari nodded, showing that she had heard.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Enzan inquired. "Is there something that Scilab needs me for or something?" Meiru shook her head.

"No, we just decided we'd go for a walk in the park. That's all," she responded. "What are you doing here?"

Enzan thought for a while before saying, "I... came here to meet someone." Meiru raised an eyebrow. "Really? Were you coming to meet Akari?" She looked at the said girl. "Can I ask why?"

Enzan sighed. "Yes, I was coming to meet her, and currently we are late for something, so if you'll excuse us…" He rose from his seat and gestured for Akari to follow him. Akari looked at her PET uncertainly. When Multi nodded frantically for her to follow him, she hurriedly put her sketchbook back into her bag, bid a "good-bye" to Meiru by bowing slightly to her, and walked after him.

"Let's get to know each other better sometime, okay…?" Meiru trailed off as Akari walked on, but she turned her head back and smiled slightly, showing she had heard. Meiru smiled back. When Enzan and Akari were gone, Meiru turned to Netto and Yaito, who had suspicious looks on their faces. Netto spoke up.

"…There's something weird about them…" he stated. Meiru rolled her eyes.

"I think all of us can see that, Netto-kun…"

_

* * *

End chapter...

* * *

_

**A/N**: Heh, I had a little trouble with where to end this chapter... I'm not sure I did too well on the battle. In my opinion, it seemed a little rushed... and I think I made Multi seem a little too experienced since this was her first battle... Anyways, I'd like to know if I kept everyone fairly in character, and if you like the length of my chapters. Hopefully they aren't too long or short... >.>;; Oh, and I realized while writing this chapter that Akari's PET had a crack in it, and I never said anything about how it got fixed. >.>;; oops... Let's just say that Enzan gave her a new one...? Oh well, reviews and suggestions are always welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hello everyone! It's been awhile since my last update, hasn't it? I'm really sorry about that. Well, one of the main differences in this chapter is that I have decided to revert to the original, Japanese names. This is because... well, once you learn them, it's kind of hard to go back... (laughs). Well, by a friend's suggestion, I'm putting a short translation of the English names to Japanese, just in case someone doesn't know them...

Lan Hikari: Netto Hikari

Megaman: Rockman

Maylu Sakurai: Meiru Sakurai

Yai Ayano: Yaito Ayanokouji

Chaud Blaze: Enzan Ijuuin

Protoman: Blues

Mr. Famous: Meijin Eguchi

Dr. Hikari: Hikari-hakase

Chief Keifer: Commisioner Kifune

Manuela: Manabe

There... that took a lot of room, didn't it? >.>;; Anyway, I hope that's right...

Oh, special thanks to **FMA Chiberz Rocz **for all of her help! I really appreciate it!

Also, special thanks to **Taylor and Lisa **for their entertaining reviews. (laughs) You two are great! If any of you would like a review from them, they ask for you to send them an e-mail. (smiles)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rockman.exe, or anything else associated with it. Rockman.exe is owned by CAPCOM. I only own my own characters, and this fan-fiction.

* * *

**Chapter Four **

Enzan and Akari were walking silently along a street, Akari lagging behind slightly. For some odd reason, people on the other sidewalks were all bustling here and there, but the one that the both of them were walking on seemed rather void of people. Only a couple people were walking along. Akari was staring at the ground uncomfortably. There was a question bothering her, but she wasn't sure if she ought to ask it or not. She couldn't exactly talk it over with Multi since her PET was in an awkward position in her bag, so she just decided to ask after some silent debating with herself.

"…Why did you say that back there? We're not really going anywhere—are we?" she asked, her voice barely over a whisper.

After a moment, he replied. "Let's just say… they get on my nerves sometimes; they seem to want to know everything about what I do outside of work. It was more of an excuse to leave them, I guess. And… we could go anywhere you'd like to go, if you want to."

"O-oh…" She was surprised by his words. "T-there really isn't anywhere I'd like to go…"

"Enzan-sama," Blues called out. "You have an e-mail. It's from Hikari-hakase and Meijin-san. They want you to meet them at Sci-lab."

"Do you know what for, Blues?"

"There was nothing in the e-mail that said why."

"Okay, then." He turned towards Akari. "Do you need to go anywhere? Like back home or something?" Akari shook her head.

"No, I don't have anything to do today." she answered quietly.

"Would you mind going to Sci-lab, then?" he questioned.

Akari was startled. "Um… are you sure it's okay?"

Enzan nodded. Akari took out her PET and looked into it. "What do you think, Multi? Do you want to go?"

Multi grinned. "Sure! Wouldn't you want to go, Akari? I mean, after all, it is the place where the newest technology's being made."

Akari gave a small smile. She looked up at Enzan. "I guess we'll go then, if you're sure it's okay."

Enzan nodded his head, but it was so slight it was hard to tell if he moved his head at all. He returned to looking ahead, and before too long, they arrived at Sci-lab. Even before they entered, Akari was staring at the building, fascinated at its extreme size.

"…Wow…" came a voice from her PET. Enzan couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Once they entered, Akari could see scientists wearing white lab coats running back and forth between places; scientists testing new technology in rooms, shouting in excitement as they worked; large monitors displaying statistics where yet other scientists were typing fervently underneath, large machines whirring to life beside them.

"Hikari-hakase and Meijin-san? You wanted to see me…?" Enzan called as they entered the main testing lab. Hikari-hakase looked up from his work.

"Ah, Enzan. Welcome," Hikari-hakase greeted. He looked over to Enzan's side. "…And who might this young lady be?" Akari looked down to the ground timidly.

"This is Akari Chang," Enzan introduced. Akari bowed her head slightly in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Akari." Hikari-hakase said with a kind smile. A faint blush showed up on her face. She turned out her PET so that the screen was facing him.

"This is Multi," she said softly. Multi waved and said an energetic, "Hi!" Hikari-hakase smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Multi."

"So what did you want to see me for, Hikari-hakase?" Enzan questioned. The doctor turned to him.

"Ah, yes. Commissioner Kifune here wanted to tell you something--,"

Just at that moment, Netto came bursting in through the doors. He skidded to a halt right in front of his father.

"Gah! I'm sorry, papa. I'm here now!" Netto panted. He turned around and faced Enzan. "Hiya, Enzan--," He blinked. "Hey… it's you again!" he shouted as he saw Akari. Akari cringed slightly from his loud voice. Rockman resisted from rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Netto-kun… it's Akari-san," Rockman said, exasperation evident in his voice. "Why don't you go and introduce yourself properly this time?"

"…But, doesn't she already know who I am?"

"Yes, Netto-kun, but you haven't actually spoken much to her, you know? You should actually introduce yourself by yourself this time, instead of having Meiru do it for you."

Netto shrugged. "Okay," he said casually. He looked at Akari again and stuck out his hand. "Hi Akari, I'm Hikari Netto," he said while grinning. She smiled weakly and shook with him, but she stopped and released his hand, grimacing. She brought back her hand slowly and stared at it, seeing an odd substance in her palm. Then she looked up from her hand and turned to Netto with a puzzled look. Rockman peered out from the PET screen to see what was going on, but then he smacked his forehead once he found out.

"Oh my God, Netto-kun…" Rockman said wearily. Enzan looked over to see what the substance was.

"Netto… what the heck is that?" Netto laughed sheepishly.

"Well um, I guess I forgot to say this… but uh, on my way here, I uh… slipped in a pile of mud. But um, I managed to catch myself in time so that my entire body wouldn't be covered in mud. And… this is the reason why my hands have mud and dirt on them." He held up his hands that did, in fact, have smudges of wet mud here and there. Rockman rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we all know how athletic you are," he said sarcastically. Netto grinned embarrassedly.

"Oops… Sorry, Akari."

"I-it's okay…" she answered gently. Hikari-hakase handed her a handkerchief, on which she wiped her hand off after saying thank you. Enzan turned back to him.

"I'm sorry, Hikari-hakase. What was it that you wanted to tell us?"

"Oh… well, Commissioner Kifune wanted to introduce you two to someone—," He looked up. "And… here he comes now." Indeed, Kifune, along with Manabe, were approaching them. There seemed to be someone following them as well.

"Enzan, Netto… we have brought over a new Net-Savior to help you two," Kifune started. "We are very proud to introduce her to Japan, so please make her feel welcome." Netto suddenly blanked out.

"Wait… it's a she?"

"Netto… shut up." Enzan said impatiently. Netto growled, but he went quiet anyways.

"Yes, Netto, it's a she," Kifune said. "And… her name is May Summers." He stepped to the side to reveal a girl around their age. She had deep chestnut hair, which had a slight curl, along with pale blue eyes. She stepped forward and smiled cheerfully at them.

"Hi guys! My name is May Summers, like Kifune-san said. It's nice to meet you," she said, extending a hand. Netto took her hand. In about two seconds, she had pulled away.

"Eww! What is that!" she yelled, rubbing her hand off on her pant leg.

"It's uh… mud." Netto said awkwardly. Rockman lowered his voice so that Netto couldn't hear, and whispered, "I believe there was some dog business as well…" May looked at Netto in a disgusted manner, and turned to Enzan. She blinked.

"Nice to meet you, Summers." Enzan said. May stared at his offered hand a bit before extending hers. As she was shaking his hand, she stared up at him.

"Ijuuin… Enzan…" she said dazedly. All of a sudden, she shook enthusiastically and started blabbing on about a whole amount of things. So much in fact, that Netto swore he had a headache later.

"Oh my God! Ijuuin Enzan… oh my God, I've always wanted to meet you… you're the first on my list of people I've wanted to meet… I can't believe it! I'll be working with you and everything! This is… unbelievable! I don't regret coming to Japan at all!" she blurted out quickly, a huge smile spreading on her face. Enzan blinked, expressionless. May looked at him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him. After a moment, he let go of her hand and shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong," he said, turning away. Akari looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Well, May here is from the United States. The Net-Savior Agency over there has sent her over to help you two. At first I was doubtful, since I wasn't sure she'd like it over here. Then I learned that she is multi-lingual, and can communicate with foreigners. She could be considered as a spy, since the Net-Savior Agency in America usually sends her to find out information, which she does quite rapidly. So, she should be pretty helpful to you two." Kifune spoke. He chuckled a bit and added, "It seems she's gotten quite used to you two already."

Netto scoffed. "More like she's gotten used to _Enzan,_" he grumbled under his breath. Rockman laughed at this remark.

"Well, would you two mind giving May a tour around the city?" Kifune asked. Enzan and Netto looked at each other, before Netto replied, "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else to do today." Enzan groaned slightly.

"Sweet! Let's go!" May exclaimed. Right before they all left, Hikari-hakase bid them a goodbye, but then remembered to tell Netto to wash his hands. Netto laughed awkwardly again and dashed off to find the nearest restroom.

* * *

"Well, how are all of you today?" May asked. But before anyone else could reply, she immediately cut in. "I think I'm feeling pretty good today, if I do say so myself." She grinned up Enzan. "How are _you _doing today?"

Enzan raised an eyebrow. "I'm… okay, I guess."

"That's _great _to hear!" she exclaimed. Enzan blinked, starting to feel that Netto wouldn't be the only one that annoyed him.

"Well, since I'll be your tour guide today," Netto began. "This is the great city of Densan! Great food, great net-battling, and all that!" He flashed a smile. After a bit, however, a confused expression took its place.

"Wait… if you're a Net-Savior, then shouldn't you have a navi?"

May laughed. "Oh yeah…" She took out a PET. "This is my navi, Jazz."

"Hey…" Jazz said weakly, waving from her PET. "I'm sorry that my Net-op is so dense as to have forgotten me…"

"What was that?" May shouted.

"It is true, you know…" Jazz replied with a sigh. She smiled. "Anyways, I can't wait to start working with you guys! I hope that we'll be helpful to you two."

Enzan smiled slightly. "What is that you specialize in?" he asked.

Jazz pointed to herself. "Me? Oh, I'm good at data collecting. As Kifune-san said, the Net-Savior Agency in America usually send us on missions to find out secret information about our enemies," She grinned. "I guess we're pretty good at sneaking in and out of places." May nodded in agreement.

"That's pretty cool." Netto said a bit absently. "Well, beginning off with our tour," he began, getting back to his assumed position as tour guide. "Off to the right there, is Higure's chip shop. He's a friend of ours that has a… huge obsession with battlechips, so… if you ever need anything, you can probably get a pretty good deal there." He continued rambling on about the other places they passed, including the arcade, the Densan City Middle School, the little corner of a field that he liked to take naps in, and some local curry shops.

"Ah… and here is the best curry shop of them all! Maha Ichiban!" he exclaimed grandly. The group stopped in front of the store. Enzan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. During the so-called "tour", Netto had been rambling on about _his own _favorite places, and May had been chattering on about… well, herself, and her own life back in the States. She had mainly directed her words towards him as well. It was a bit much for him to handle. Then he realized that Netto would probably continue on with describing all the different types of his favorite curry, and he silently prayed to whatever power there was above that he'd survive through it.

"Man, I'm starving! Let's go in and get something to eat!" Netto said, leading the way in. Enzan grudgingly followed everyone else inside.

* * *

"Wow… this is pretty good!" May said, spooning up another mouthful of her curry. Netto had ordered so many things that Enzan felt full just looking at it all. He didn't feel much like eating, and he had passed when Netto had offered him some.

"Of course it's good!" Netto replied as he smiled, finishing another dish. Enzan sighed.

"So," May began, turning to Enzan. "Your navi is Blues, isn't it? Do you think it would be okay if Jazz got to know him better? It's okay? Great! How about a net-battle? I don't think Jazz is that bad, and it'd be so sweet if I got to net-battle you!" she spoke rapidly, her words tumbling over one another. Enzan wasn't quite sure how to reply…

"Um… sure, I guess…" he said, not sure to which question he was replying. May was really starting to get on his nerves. When he looked up at her, he noticed that she had gone back to chatting to no one in particular, talking about some other random fact about herself. Sighing, he looked around to see if he could interest himself somewhere else. His gaze fell on Akari, who was sitting next to him, staring at her sketchbook with a blank look. She had her head bowed, and her PET was placed neatly on the table in front of her. Brow furrowing, he wondered vaguely how anyone could be so quiet and shy. He realized that she hadn't spoken a word ever since May was first introduced. Mentally, he made a note to speak with her a bit kinder, just to see if she would talk more.

"You're not eating anything," Enzan spoke quietly. Akari looked up in mild surprise. She turned to Enzan.

"Oh… I'm not… I'm not that hungry…" she said gently, and returned to staring at her sketchbook wordlessly. Enzan looked at her, wondering why she was this way. He'd never quite met anyone like her before. She couldn't have always been this quiet… could she? He didn't know, and it bothered him slightly for some reason.

May looked over at Enzan and Akari. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at the other girl. She couldn't understand why Enzan paid attention to that girl, when he barely noticed herself. After all, that girl hardly spoke. She really didn't see what was so special about her. Besides, she wasn't even a Net-Savior, she thought.

"We should probably get going, you know." Enzan said standing up, shaking May out of her train of thought. Netto groaned, but he got up as well. He would have forgotten to pay had Rockman not yelled at him. Covering up any sign of her previous thinking, May bounded up happily, and Akari stood also, clutching her sketchbook closely. She looked at the new Net-Savior uneasily. She had become aware that May had been looking at her while they were sitting, even though she didn't show any sign that she noticed. She wondered what she did that could have earned such a cold stare from her.

Once again outside, Enzan breathed in deeply. He was glad to get out of the small restaurant. All four of them were walking along the outside street once more. Enzan looked up into the sky to see the sun, a brilliant orb of fiery gold and orange.

'_It's getting late,'_ he thought.

"So, do you know where you're staying?" Netto asked May. She nodded her head.

"Yeah. The Net-Savior Headquarters provided me with a nice apartment room for myself. It's not too far from here," She grinned as she pointed off to somewhere in the distance.

"Would you like us to walk you home?" Netto offered. May shook her head.

"Nah, I can walk. It's not too far, like I said before." She turned around to face all of them, smiling. "You guys are really too nice. Thanks a lot for today. See ya around!" And with one last glance at Akari, she ran off.

"Yeah, I better go too. I think mama said that she would be making noodles tonight." Netto said, grinning longingly at his upcoming meal. Rockman rubbed his forehead.

"It's amazing where all that food goes," he mumbled incoherently. As Netto skated off, he waved resignedly from his PET. Enzan watched them go, smiling slightly at Rockman's irritation. Akari was getting ready to leave as well.

"Um… th-thank you for today. I had a nice time," Akari said softly, bowing a little. "I need to get home now." She started walking off towards the bus station.

"Hey," Enzan called. She looked back. "Are you going to be walking back home?"

"No… I'll be taking the bus." She smiled softly. "I'll be fine."

"Oh…" An awkward silence followed. "Well, okay, see you then."

"Good-bye…"

Enzan watched her walk off. He could faintly make out Multi, talking rapidly to her about something. He chuckled to himself. It was strange how different Multi was compared with her Net-Op. Akari was quiet and composed, while Multi was much more talkative and cheerful. He wondered if they'd always been that way. He couldn't think about it much more after that, though, as he had to ask Blues to send the limousine on which he would ride back to IPC headquarters. Soon, the long dark vehicle turned around the corner, and stopped in front of him. He got in, thinking about the work he would have back at his office.

While he was riding away, he didn't notice a certain chestnut-haired girl staring after him, a reproachful look written all over her features.

_

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End chapter..._

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**A/N: **Heh... it annoys me how short this seems... >.>;; Well, hopefully I got the names right and all. Later on, I'll probably go back and change the summary and chapters 1-3 so it doesn't seem weird. I know it's probably annoying to hear authors say "please review" all the time, so I want to say that it doesn't really matter if you don't review. When you do review, however, it allows me to see how well I do as an author, and it motivates me to write better. So... just know that reviews are always very appreciated. (smiles) 


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